Govt fixes minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 590 per quintal, an increase by Rs 45.67

KATHMANDU, Jan 7: Sugarcane producing farmers are unhappy with the new floor price of sugar determined by the government. They have maintained that the new price is unable to give them respite as they have been facing soaring costs of production. 

The government has fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 590 per quintal for this year, which is Rs 45.67 more than the last year’s floor price. However, the farmers concerned said it is not at par with the price they demanded for their produce. “At a time when sugar mills have been selling their product at Rs 90-100 per kg, the new price of sugarcane is not fair enough for farmers,” Kapil Muni Mainali, President of Nepal Sugarcane Producers’ Federation told Republica.  

A cabinet meeting held on Wednesday approved the new price to be paid to sugarcane producers, which is way less than the price of Rs 650 per quintal demanded by farmers. Once the new price comes into effect, farmers will receive Rs 520 per quintal from sugar mills while the government will provide the remaining Rs 70 in the form of grant to them.

Rs 520 that the sugar producers need to pay to the farmers includes Rs 382 production cost of sugarcane, Rs 62 transportation costs and Rs 76 profit amount per quintal to the farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development assesses the floor price of the agricultural produce while the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies endorses the revised price and forwards it to Cabinet for final approval.

This year, the government reviewed the sugarcane price almost one month later as compared to the previous year. Last year, the government fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 544.33 per quintal in the first week of December, which was just Rs 12 per quintal more than the price of the previous year.

President of Nepal Sugarcane Producers’ Federation Mainali said the delay has forced many farmers to sell their produce at lower prices.

 
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